精美英文欣赏:关于爱的隐喻

"What is a Caucus¹-race?" asked Alice during her adventure in Wonderland. The Dodo explained.

“什么是会议式赛跑？”爱丽丝在梦游仙境中问到。渡渡鸟解释道。

First you mark out a racecourse, though the shape of it doesn't really matter.

首先你拟定出一条跑道，形状是什么样的并不重要。

Then you shout out, one, two three, go, and you run around in any direction you like for about half an hour and then the race ends.

然后你喊一、二、三，跑，你沿着任何你喜欢的方向跑大约半小时，然后比赛结束。

But when asked the question, "who has actually won?" the Dodo looked puzzled and pressed his finger to his temple.

但当被问到“谁真正赢了比赛”，渡渡鸟看上去非常困惑，用手指紧贴在他的太阳穴，

Then the answer came to him, "everybody has won, and all must have prizes." Like thousands of households around the country, the Fraser family,

然后回答道，“每个人都赢了，他们都有奖品。”像弗雷泽家族一样的许多家族，

and in particular my eldest² daughter who's also called Alice, are waiting anxiously for GCSE results that come out this morning.

尤其是我的大女儿也叫做爱丽丝，焦急地等待着今天英国普通初级中学毕业文凭的结果。

Will she pass or will she fail? In a few hours' time, we will know the judgement of the examiners.

她会及格还是不及格呢？在接下来的几个小时里，我们将会在主考人知道考试结果。

In a much-discussed book that bears the title "All must have prizes" the journalist Melanie Phillips has powerfully argued

在讨论得最多的书，它的标题是“所有公司都必须有奖品：”记者梅拉妮菲利普斯的有力认为，

that the education system in this country was profoundly undermined by the idea that there ought to be no such thing as winners and losers.

在这个国家深刻地破坏了教育系统的想法，不应该有所谓的赢家和输家。

For if everyone is a winner and all must have prizes, then we profoundly undermine any sense of success or achievement.

如果每个人都是赢家，都必须有奖品，然后我们深深地破坏任何意义上的成功或成就。

A culture that rates anything and everything as success is a culture that has given up on the very idea of success.

给任何东西估价的文化，和一切都是成功的文化，后者放弃了关于成功的一个恰当的理念。

It is a system that makes as little sense as the Caucus race. But whilst I see all this, the funny thing is that, as a Dad,

这是一个系统，使得会议式赛跑的意义不大。不过，虽然我明白这一切，有趣的是，作为一个父亲，

I won't love my daughter any different if she gets the grades she wants or if she doesn't. Whatever the result, my love for her will remain the same.

我爱我的女儿不会有差别，不论她得到的任何分数，是她想要的还是不想要的。无论结果如何，我对她的爱将保持不变。

For love is not dependent upon success. And the same is true of Christianity. The prodigal⁵ son may have blown his inheritance on wine, women and song,

爱是不依赖于成功。同样是真正的基督教。浪子可以将他的祖产花在酒，女人与歌声上。

and his brother may have worked tirelessly on his father's farm, but both receive the same share of the father's love.

而他的兄弟可能不辞辛苦地在他父亲的农场，但都得到相同的父爱。

In another parable⁶, some workers toil⁷ all day in the sun, and others do only half a day's work, but all get the same pay.

在另一个比喻，一些工人在太阳下辛劳一天，而别人做的只有半天的工作，但都得到相同的报酬。

It seems totally unfair. Yet from the perspective of a loving father, which is, of course, the most familiar Christian⁴ metaphor⁸ for God,

这似乎很不公平。但从一个慈爱的父亲的角度来看，当然，最熟悉的基督教隐喻是上帝，

all are offered prizes. And that's because love is not contingent⁹. It doesn't depend upon the behaviour of the person being loved.

所有人都得到了赏赐。那是因为爱，不是偶然。这不取决于行为而是爱。

Love is just there. It falls from the sky like rain, upon the just and the unjust. So does that mean that we can do exactly as we like?

爱就在那里。它从天空落下如雨，既落在公正面前和也落在不公正面前。这是否意味着，我们可以这样，只做我们喜欢的事吗？

Is everything permitted in a world without judgment¹⁰? Well, not quite. For although divine love is indeed offered to all, love has also to be received.

是允许世界上的一切，都没有判决吗？好了，不完全是。虽然神圣的爱确实是给所有人的，爱也被接收到。

And to allow ourselves to be looked and fully³ seen by a person that genuinely loves us is one of the most searching forms of judgment that there can ever can be.

允许我们自己被人观察，了解我们，真心爱上我们，是最有搜索形式的判断之一。

This is far more existentially penetrating¹¹. Not the judgment of distant examiners, divine or otherwise,

这是存在性的穿透。不是遥远的考官，神圣的或其他的判断，

but the judgment of facing a truth about ourselves that can only be recognized and spoken by those who love us most, come what may."

但面临着，只能承认和说最爱我们的那些人，了解自己的这一判断，不管发生什么事。

1 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。

2 eldest   

adj.最年长的，最年老的

参考例句：

• The King's eldest son is the heir to the throne.国王的长子是王位的继承人。
• The castle and the land are entailed on the eldest son.城堡和土地限定由长子继承。

3 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

4 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

5 prodigal   

adj.浪费的，挥霍的，放荡的

参考例句：

• He has been prodigal of the money left by his parents.他已挥霍掉他父母留下的钱。
• The country has been prodigal of its forests.这个国家的森林正受过度的采伐。

6 parable   

n.寓言，比喻

参考例句：

• This is an ancient parable.这是一个古老的寓言。
• The minister preached a sermon on the parable of the lost sheep.牧师讲道时用了亡羊的比喻。

7 toil   

vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事

参考例句：

• The wealth comes from the toil of the masses.财富来自大众的辛勤劳动。
• Every single grain is the result of toil.每一粒粮食都来之不易。

8 metaphor   

n.隐喻，暗喻

参考例句：

• Using metaphor,we say that computers have senses and a memory.打个比方，我们可以说计算机有感觉和记忆力。
• In poetry the rose is often a metaphor for love.玫瑰在诗中通常作为爱的象征。

9 contingent   

adj.视条件而定的；n.一组，代表团，分遣队

参考例句：

• The contingent marched in the direction of the Western Hills.队伍朝西山的方向前进。
• Whether or not we arrive on time is contingent on the weather.我们是否按时到达要视天气情况而定。

10 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

11 penetrating   

adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的

参考例句：

• He had an extraordinarily penetrating gaze. 他的目光有股异乎寻常的洞察力。
• He examined the man with a penetrating gaze. 他以锐利的目光仔细观察了那个人。